The Age of Exploration marked the apogee of Portuguese imperial power and wealth. At the beginning of the fifteenth century Portugal had a population of one and a quarter million and an economy dependent on maritime trade with Northern Europe. Although Portugal lacked the wealth and population of its contemporaries, it would lead the European community in the exploration of sea routes to the African continent, the Atlantic Islands, and to Asia and South America over the course of the sixteenth century. Several factors contributed to Portugal becoming the pre-eminent European pioneer in maritime exploration. The first was its geographical position along the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula, which allowed for the natural development of a seafaring tradition. The second was the evolution of a complex maritime economy in which the port cities of Lisbon and Oporto became the commercial centres of the country. The merchant community used these port cities as their base of operations from which they financed the majority of the various exploration and trading ventures.

Geographical Overview

The third critical factor that made Portugal a forerunner in exploration was its monarchy. Portugal benefited from a relatively stable monarchy whose kings encouraged maritime trade and shipping ventures. The Crown gave every possible incentive by implementing tax privileges and insurance funds to protect the investments of ship owners and builders. Often, members of the aristocracy were also investors such as Prince Henry the Navigator. The aristocracy used their political position to facilitate the Crown's granting of royal sanctions that regulated the voyages of exploration made by the merchant community. Portugal was fortunate to have kings who recognised the kingdom's dependency on overseas trade and assisted in its expansion in every possible way. The stability of the monarchy was essential to the establishment of sustainable economic growth, thus the stability of the Portuguese monarchy gave the kingdom a seventy-year head start over the Spanish who were distracted by a civil war and the Reconquista of Granada. It was not until Columbus' voyage in 1492 that the Spanish were finally in a position to challenge Portugal's predominance in exploration.

An Overview of Portugal's History (temporarily unavailable)

Portugal's Monarchy and its Maritime History

The region that would become Portugal was settled by the Celts around 700 B.C.E. It soon attracted a succession of peoples and was colonised in turn by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Visigoths. The Moors crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in the eighth century and commenced a long occupation over much of the Iberian Peninsula. They introduced their culture, architecture, and agricultural techniques to the region until Christian resistance grew into the Reconquista that finally ejected the Moors in the twelfth century.

Portugal was born from this struggle to reconquer Iberia from the Moors. Young aristocrats from all over Europe went to Iberia to battle the Moors and while reconquering the peninsula for the Christian kings, they won hereditary titles and land grants for themselves. It was Henry, a son of the Duke of Burgundy, who fought as a vassal for the king for Navarre and was rewarded with a principality and the title of Count of Portucale in the eleventh century. It was his son, Afonso Henriques (1128-1185), seeking independence from the Crown of Navarre, who petitioned and won from the pope the title of King of Portugal.

King Afonso Henriques had a primitive navy that was involved in constant skirmishes with Moorish vessels in the Strait of Gibraltar. His successor, Sancho I, continued the kingdom's naval expansion when he contributed forty galleys, gallots, and other vessels to a crusading fleet in 1189. Under Diniz (1261-1325), Portugal's greatest medieval king, both the royal and mercantile marine developed considerably. Portuguese vessels sailed to France, Normandy, England, Spain, and the Mediterranean. King Diniz had a pine forest planted near Leiria to supply wood for ship building and encouraged the industry by conferring the privilege of knighthood upon its officers and artisans. He kept a regular fleet to guard against coastal pirates and was the first Portuguese monarch to establish a permanent and hereditary office of Admiral. In 1317 a famous Genoese noble, Manoel Pessanha, was the first to be appointed to that office. Pessanha brought to Portugal several leading Genoese families who became, over time, major influences on Portugal's era of overseas expansion. Passanha's son inherited his father's office of Admiral and was soon joined by two more admirals under King Afonso IV, indicating the ongoing enlargement of the royal fleet.

Under King Ferdinand I the Handsome (1345-1383), the Portuguese fleets began carrying artillery during Portugal's alliance with Castile against Aragon in 1359 and 1364. King Ferdinand I also granted a Letter of Privileges in 1377 that encouraged the growth of the mercantile marine. This was a turning point for Portuguese maritime history because a shipping company was created to promote overseas commerce, all the while insuring the availability of merchant vessels for the Crown during times of war. The Portuguese navy went on to suffer numerous losses in King Ferdinand I's various conflicts, which left it in a precarious state during the succession crisis that followed the king's death in 1383. His half brother, D. João, Master of the Military Order of Avis, stepped into the role of regent during this succession crisis, which motivated Castile's King Juan to invade Portugal.

King Juan's army laid siege to Lisbon in 1384 but had to disengage after suffering heavy causalities. Portugal desperately needed strong leadership to continue to fight off the ambitious Castilian king, and in 1385 the Portuguese Cortes proclaimed the 28-year-old Master of Avis as King João I. With the support of his kingdom and his English allies, the young king soundly defeated the Castilians at Aljubarrota, thereby securing Portugal's independence. The peace of 1411 insured the stability of the House of Avis on the Portuguese throne. King João I then applied himself to the task of reinvigorating his kingdom, paramount to this was the rebuilding and expansion of the royal navy and maritime commerce. Together with his wife, Queen Phillippa of Lancaster, King João I raised six children: Duarte, Pedro, Henry, Isabel, John, and Fernão. The three eldest princes, especially Prince Henry, would play leading roles in Portugal's explorations of Africa. With the monarchy now stabilised, King João I and his descendants were free to preside over the most important two hundred years of their kingdom's history that saw the ascendancy of a Portuguese trading empire that extended out to Africa, the Atlantic, Asia, and America (Brazil).

Philippa of Lancaster, Queen of Portugal

The House of Avis Genealogy

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